Voting in independence referendum over in Scotland

EDINBURGH, September 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Voting in Scotland’s independence referendum ended at 22:00 local time on Thursday, but all people standing in lines at the polling stations were allowed to cast their ballots, the organisers said.

Once 2,608 polling stations close, the ballots are to be taken to 32 vote counting centres, one in each administrative district, where 5,767 tellers are ready to get down to work.

The final results are expected to be announced on Friday morning or afternoon. Local television channels will be reporting current results throughout the night in all 32 districts.

With a hypothetical 100% turnout, it will take about 2.1 million votes for Scotland to break away from Great Britain. Of the record large electorate of 4.3 million people, about 790,000 preferred to vote by mail.

The authorities expect a turnout of about 80% In this case, some 1.72 million “yes” votes (provided there are no spoiled ballots) will need to be cast for Scotland to become independent. Only the absolute number of votes cast will be taken into account.

Queen Elizabeth II, who is closely watching the referendum from its Balmoral Castle in central Scotland, will hold a special meeting with her close adivers after the results have been announced, her representative said.

The monarch will unquestionably accept any outcome of the referendum, BBC quoted one of the queen’s closest aides as saying.

Queen Elizabeth will retain the title of formal head of state if Scotland secedes from the United Kingdom. She has not made any official statements on the plebiscite but expressed hope on Sunday that people would think well about their future before voting for or against Scotland’s independence.

England and Scotland united under the Act of Union of in 1707. Prior to that, for about a hundred years, they had one king but different system of government.